Forward Deployed Engineer

 

Rivet Industries

Forward Deployed Engineer

Full-time On-site San Jose, CA $165K - $220K

$165,000 – $220,000 base salary per year plus competitive equity

About this role

We are looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer with 3–5 years of experience to embed directly with commercial and defense customers, solving complex real-world problems at the intersection of hardware, software, and mission-critical operations. This is a rare opportunity to join a fast-moving, early-stage defense tech company where you'll be the face of Rivet on the front line — writing production-quality code in the field, shaping the product roadmap from the point of need, and working on technology that genuinely matters.

What will you be doing?

Deploy onsite with customers (industrial, defense, and government) to develop, debug, and ship high-impact software solutions in the field — often in air-gapped, austere, or disconnected environments

Cycle between customer sites and the office: gather real-world feedback, bring it back to the core engineering team, and iterate fast to improve the product

Diagnose and solve a wide range of technical problems on the fly — from networking issues to code bugs — using whatever tool is right for the job (Linux, Android, C, Rust, Python, etc.)

Act as Rivet's ambassador on site: represent the company credibly with customer stakeholders, translate field learnings into product priorities, and identify new use cases

Collaborate with Rivet's core engineering team (including PhDs and domain specialists) to escalate, communicate, and resolve complex technical challenges discovered in the field

Key Requirements

U.S. citizen with an active Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain one — non-negotiable due to contract obligations

 

 

3–5 years of hands-on software engineering experience with a strong foundation in Linux, networking fundamentals, and low-level programming (C, Rust, or similar); comfort across multiple languages and abstraction levels

Demonstrated experience deploying and debugging integrated technology solutions onsite with customers — not just building in an office

Background in environments where software meets the physical world: embedded systems, defense tech, robotics, aerospace, IoT, factory automation, or similar "bits and atoms" domains

Scrappy, curious, and self-directed — thrives in ambiguity, willing to travel 35–70%, and genuinely excited to work in austere field environments (not just an air- conditioned office)

3 - 5 years of experience

in forward deployed or onsite software engineering in hardware-integrated or defense/industrial environments

Salary

$165K - $220K ($165,000 – $220,000 base salary per year plus competitive equity)

Equity

Competitive equity

Visa sponsorship not available

On-site work policy

In-office in San Jose, CA with 35–50% travel to customer sites

Full-time position

Location

San Jose, CA

Report to

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leblancd/

Tech stack

Linux, Android, C, Rust, Python, DevOps, Networking / IP, Embedded Systems, Hardware-Software Integration, SDLC, Sensors, AI

 

 

About Rivet Industries

We are an American company developing purpose-built tools for industrial workforces and defense personnel. In an era when skilled workers are retiring and global competition calls for data-driven action, we aim to multiply the effectiveness of every individual. We stand for renewed frontline grit, elevated for decisive action in all conditions.

Team size

55 employees Founded

2024

Website

www.rivet.us LinkedIn

Visit

Total funding

$70M Company locations

Washington, District of Columbia +2

About the team

Rivet is a tight-knit team of over 50+ spread across Washington, DC, San Jose, CA,

and Bellevue, WA.

The culture is unapologetically mission-driven and field-first. Engineers here don't sit behind a desk theorizing about user needs — they go into the woods, strap on the hardware, walk alongside soldiers and industrial operators, and debug in real conditions. Expect to travel, get bitten by bugs, sweat through test events in North Carolina, and work in windowless rooms with no internet. That's not a bug; it's the point.

The team is led by people with deep, credible pedigrees. The platform architect is a longtime former Palantir FDE who has lived this role and knows exactly what great looks like. The lead engineer on the SBMC contract comes from a government background doing exactly this kind of frontline software work. The team they've built around them reflects that — including a retired Marine as test lead and engineers who came up through programs like IVAS at Microsoft before joining Rivet.

 

 

What unites the team is a shared disposition: highly curious, scrappy, and drawn to

hard problems that exist at the intersection of software and the physical world. People here think in terms of "bits and atoms" — they're not building ad algorithms or fintech dashboards; they're building systems that interface with tanks, aircraft carriers, satellites, and soldiers. The team values range and resourcefulness over narrow specialization, and they'd rather hire someone who has worked as a freelance photographer and a mission flight software engineer than someone who has done one thing for ten years.

The feedback loop is fast by design — go on-site, gather signal, ship improvements, repeat. With a team this small, every person has outsized individual impact, direct access to leadership, and a real voice in shaping the product roadmap from the front line.

Tech stack

Linux, Android, C, Rust, Python, DevOps, Networking / IP, Embedded Systems, Hardware-Software Integration, SDLC, Sensors, AI

The product

Rivet builds integrated task systems — fusing hardened mixed reality hardware with software, sensors, AI, and networking — purpose-built for industrial workforces and defense personnel.

At the core of Rivet's product is a mixed reality headset paired with a compute puck and on-body sensors, designed to operate in the world's most demanding environments. The system layers a full software platform — spanning embedded firmware, an Android- based OS, computer vision, and mission applications — on top of that hardware foundation.

Rivet serves two primary verticals:

• Defense / U.S. Army: Under the Soldier Born Mission Command (SBMC) program, Rivet equips dismounted soldiers with next- generation mixed reality night vision glasses featuring low-light sensors and thermal cameras — enabling soldiers to see, communicate, and execute missions in austere conditions. SBMC is the follow-on to the Army's IVAS program and positions Rivet as a direct competitor to Anduril and Elbit in the next-generation soldier systems market.

• Industrial / Enterprise: Rivet's platform is deployed for the maintenance and operation of complex, high-value assets — satellites, rockets, aircraft, aircraft carriers, submarines, power plants, and more. By putting real-time

   

 

data, overlays, and decision support directly in the hands of technicians and operators on the floor or in the field, Rivet reduces downtime and multiplies individual effectiveness.

The platform is built to function in air- gapped, bandwidth-constrained, and fully disconnected environments — a core technical differentiator that makes it viable where cloud-dependent tools fail. Rivet's forward-deployed engineering model ensures the product is continuously refined through direct feedback loops with operators at the tactical edge.

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